Association of Christians Ministering among Internationals
ACMI 2008 Annual Conference May 29-31
Strengthening the Workers to Serve with Integrity
Colossians 1:10-14 “And we pray this in order that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and may please him in every way…”
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ACMI 2008 Plenary Speakers
Friday morning: Grete Shelling - Avoiding Burnout and Staying Healthy in Ministry
Grete Shelling will outline effective ways to maintain balance in our lives and ministry. Grete is a licensed professional counselor serving in Graz, Austria, working bilingually (German and English) with internationals and Austrians. Her special interests are intercultural couples, cultural adjustment issues, stress management, conflict resolution, and communication skills. She and her husband Ted hold English discussion groups, take international students sightseeing and lead English speaking Bible studies. She also serves as a member of the Human Resource Committee of InterFACE Ministries.
Grete has been involved as a friend, helper, tutor, and hostess to international students and their families since 1968. She is married to Ted Shelling and has a grown son. Her workbook on cross-cultural marriage, In Love But Worlds Apart is co-authored with Janet Fraser-Smith and will be available in 2008.
Friday evening: Gordon MacDonald - Integrity Matters
Gordon MacDonald will discuss how we can maintain integrity in both our public and private lives. Gordon is an author, speaker, and teacher. He was a pastor for more than 40 years, most recently at Grace Chapel, Lexington, Massachusetts. For 3 years Gordon was president of InterVarsity Christian Fellowship. MacDonald has written more than a dozen books and co-authored others with his wife, Gail. Perhaps his best known book has been Ordering Your Private World. Among his other books are Secrets of a Generous Life, The Life God Blesses, Renewing Your Spiritual Passion, When Men Think Private Thoughts, Mid-Course Correction (a book on “deep life-change”), A Resilient Life, and a new book, Who Stole My Church, which will be published in January 2008. He writes regularly for Leadership Journal, for which he also serves as editor-at-large, and writes a column (“Out of My Files”) on the LeadershipJournal.net website.
Gordon also speaks frequently at conferences for the Willow Creek Association both in the United States and in other parts of the world. Privately, he engages with company leaders as an executive coach. His academic background includes a B.A. from the University of Colorado, and an M. Div. from Denver Seminary. Gordon and Gail MacDonald, married 46 years, live on an old farm they call Peace Ledge in Canterbury, N.H. Their great satisfaction is in their two married children and five grandchildren. Beyond that the MacDonalds are hikers, bikers, kayakers, and voracious readers.
Saturday morning: Randy Newman - Integrity in Evangelism
Randy Newman will share insights on how we can share the Gospel boldly and transparently. Randy has been with the staff of Campus Crusade for Christ since 1980 and currently serves with the Academic Initiative Team as part of a ministry to university professors. He ministers to students, professors, and policy shapers in our nation¹s capital and has taught in the chaplain’s office at the Pentagon.
Randy is an honors graduate from Temple University with a degree in music education. He also has a Masters of divinity degree from Trinity Evangelical Divinity School. Randy is a Jewish believer in Jesus and the former editor of The Messiah-On-Campus Bulletin. He lives in Annandale, Virginia, with his wife Pam and their three sons. He enjoys jazz, classical music, cooking, and easy crossword puzzles. He is the author of numerous articles and the books Questioning Evangelism: Engaging People¹s Hearts the Way Jesus Did and Corner Conversations: Engaging Dialogues about God and Life, both published by Kregel Publications.
Saturday evening: Rajendra Pillai - Integrity in Cross-Cultural Relationships
Rajendra Pillai will provide principles for respecting cultural differences and effectively crossing cultural divides. Rajendra is an author who received an Outreach Award for his book Reaching the World in our Own Backyard (2003). He is also a teaching pastor at Damascus Road Community Church in Damascus, Maryland.
In addition to serving and teaching at his church, Rajendra has done extensive cross-cultural consultation in the corporate world. His clients have included the FBI, the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the National Institutes of Health, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association, and several public and private companies. Rajendra and his wife, Erika, have two daughters, and they live in Clarksburg, Maryland.